Hold Congress Accountable

Knowledge is power. It makes sure people understand what is happening to their country, and how they can make a difference. FreedomWorks University will give you the tools to understand economics, the workings of government, the history of the American legal system, and the most important debates facing our nation today. Enroll in FreedomWorks University today!

Search FreedomWorks

Resources

Blog

White House Says Unemployment Down Yet Actual Unemployment Up

Last Friday, the Labor Department reported that in January the unemployment rate had fallen from 10 to 9.7 percent. The White House claimed that this was positive news that the economy was improving. However, upon closer examination, the Labor Department’s job statistics are seasonally adjusted. Despite the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate falling, Americans lost 20,000 jobs in January. Dr. Anthony B. Sanders, Professor of Finance at George Mason University, claimed that Americans should not get too excited about the Labor Department’s unemployment numbers due to the fact that:

According to the Labor Department, revisions in the data are responsible for the temporary lower seasonally adjusted unemployment rates:

the rate dropped from 10 percent the previous month because it revised the total payrolls to show there were 930,000 fewer jobs last March.

Peter Morici, a University of Maryland economist, confirms that the actual unemployment rate is higher than 10 percent:

The actual unemployment in the economy did not go down, it’s just the data was revised. When you have a revision in the data like this, you really have to wait until next month, at least, to get a clear picture of what’s going on.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 9.7 percent can be misleading. In fact, theactualunemployment rate has increased .9 percent within the past month to 10.6 percent. However, many economists believe that the real unemployment rate could be even higher since discouraged workers that have given up looking for work are not included in the government's official statistics. Despite January's job reports, Americans continue to lose jobs at a staggering rate with little to no relief in sight.